1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for ventilating and cooling the interior of a vehicle with air inlet openings located in the rear of a solar cell-equipped vehicle roof and with at least one air guide channel connected to it.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, the interior of a vehicle is reached by blowing the outside air surrounding the vehicle into its interior, the cooling of the heated interior being achieved by the temperature difference between the outside and the inside temperature and the cooling action of the air flow. Devices for this supply and withdrawal of air from the outside to the inside and vice versa are known according to German Patent DE 40 22 928 C1 and corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,278 and also for the roof area of a motor vehicle. Such devices generally have a fan which is located in the region of the roof cutout which can be closed with a conventional sliding roof cover.
German Patent DE 39 38 259 C1 and corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,674 disclose a motor vehicle with a pivotable roof cover, and when the roof cover is swung up, a fan is moved into the action position in an opening between the roof cover and a motor vehicle roof opening frame. This fan can be electrically operated with a solar module mounted on the roof. This arrangement for ventilation of the passenger compartment is likewise used to supply outside air by means of the fan into the interior of the passenger compartment in order to cool the interior of the passenger compartment solely by the supplied outside air. However, this outside air flow supply can, at most, achieve 50% cooling of the interior since the outside air—especially on hot days—contributes to cooling of the heated vehicle space only to a very limited degree due to strong heating.
Especially when using glass roofs which are optionally equipped with solar cells does greater heating of the interior of the passenger compartment occur directly underneath the glass roof, therefore in the top area of the passenger compartment interior. Thus, it is desirable to blow outside air predominantly into this upper passenger compartment interior region. German Patent Application DE 42 04 785 A1 discloses an arrangement for climate control of a vehicle interior which has a flat heat exchanger which extends beyond the entire length of the vehicle roof on the lower inside of the roof. Outside air drawn via entry grill located above the rear window into a cassette in which the heat exchanger is located via and is split into upper and lower air streams at each side of the heat exchanger, the upper air stream being ducted to the top edge of the front windscreen and the lower air stream being directed into the passenger compartment interior and to the side windows. These heat exchangers are limited in their cooling capacity depending on the temperature of the outside air. Moreover, these heat exchangers require cassettes which are located under the roof, thereby reducing the height of the passenger compartment interior. Furthermore, these heat exchangers, in combination with cassettes, are complex in their construction and costly to produce.